The 20 Best New TV Shows of 2020

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 30, 2020

Above are the highest-scoring first-year TV series (including limited series) debuting in the United States between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. Shows are ranked by Metascore (an average of grades from top professional critics on a 0-100 scale) prior to rounding based on scores as of December 29, 2020, and any programs with fewer than 7 reviews are excluded.

3 of 21 photo by Michele K. Short

82 The Plot Against America (HBO)

(#18) Like 2019's Years and Years, it's another HBO miniseries that holds a mirror up to our current dark times, though this one heads to the past (rather than the near future) to do so—and enlists the network's most acclaimed creator. David Simon's latest HBO project (which finds him re-teaming with frequent collaborator Ed Burns) is a six-part adaptation of Philip Roth's 2004 novel that imagines an alternate American history in which Charles Lindbergh is elected president in 1940, leading America on a path toward fascism. Winona Ryder, John Turturro, Morgan Spector, and Zoe Kazan head the cast, while Minkie Spiro (The Deuce) and Thomas Schlamme (The West Wing) split directing duties.

“As deeply disturbing as it is brilliantly compelling. ... A top-to-bottom standout cast that makes the mesmerizing most of this potent material.” —Mark Dawidziak, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Watch it on HBO Max (6 episodes)

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